The present invention relates to apparatus for manufacturing concrete cored bricks, and more particularly to a novel method and apparatus for making antiqued concrete cored bricks and capping bricks.
It is known to produce concrete cored bricks by using a concrete brick making machine. Commonly, these machines include a mold box defining a plurality of mold cavities, supported above a pallet table which is mounted in a frame structure. To make cored bricks, a device is used to insert core bars into aligned core-bar holes in the mold box. By inserting core bars through the entire mold, the mold box is made ready for receiving concrete from a suitable concrete feeding device, resulting in the formation of plural uncured bricks.
Next, while the bricks are in the mold and the core bars are in place, the bricks are compacted and vibrated to compress the bricks so that they will hold their shape before being cured. Then, the core bars are removed from the mold and the bricks are ejected. Finally, the bricks are moved to a suitable curing station for curing.
Cored concrete bricks are desirable for three reasons. First, they are similar in appearance to clay bricks. This is desirable because the appearance of clay bricks is seen as the industry standard by certain purchasers. Thus, if concrete bricks are made to look like clay bricks there is a greater chance that they will be accepted by the industry. As is known to those of average skill in the art, both concrete bricks and clay bricks are equally effective as blocks for building walls, etc.
Second, with cored bricks, there is a savings in material without giving up any structural integrity. Third, the cores provide void areas for mortar to rise into when the brick is laid on a mortar bed. Such a feature gives bricks what is known to brick layers as "tooth".
In addition to cored concrete bricks, concrete capping bricks are also used by brick layers. Capping bricks are those that are used to "cap-off" a column of bricks. For example, if the bricks are being used to form the walls of a structure, capping bricks are used to cap the columns of bricks associated with window sills.
Capping bricks are solid because the top surfaces of such bricks are exposed and are used as a platform to support objects. Cored bricks are aesthetically inappropriate and structurally inadequate for such purposes.
Currently, if one desired to make solid concrete bricks, it would be necessary to change molds, i.e. to one without core-bar holes. This is the case because cored brick molds are inadequate for making solid bricks. The inadequacy is due to the presence of core-bar holes which, without core bars received therein, provide an area for concrete to escape during compressing and vibrating.
At best, such a process produces solid bricks that have irregular surfaces due to separation of the concrete in the core-bar holes from the concrete in the mold cavities when the bricks are ejected from the mold. In a worst case scenario, the structural integrity of the bricks are damaged during the ejection of the bricks.
With the requirement of changing molds, valuable manufacturing time is wasted and productivity is reduced. Such wasted time and reduced productivity is a particular problem for custom concrete brick manufacturers because they make special "runs" of customized bricks. A given order may require a certain amount of cored concrete bricks and capping bricks.
Additionally, it is desirable for custom brick manufacturers to include a distinctive pattern or coating on the brick surface(s) that are exposed for viewing when the bricks are installed.
Additionally, there is a need for capping bricks that have "tooth". Thus far, known capping bricks do not provide "tooth" because they are solid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a combination of cored bricks and capping bricks in a single manufacturing step.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a distinctive pattern/coating for customized concrete cored bricks and capping bricks.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide concrete bricks that have an appearance similar to clay bricks.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel antiqued concrete capping brick that provides "tooth" for brick layers who are using the bricks to cap a column of bricks.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood after considering the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.